Dr. Benedict Probst

Ben is an affiliated researcher in the Group for Sustainability and Technology (SusTec) at the Department of Management, Technology and Economics of ETH Zurich.

Ben’s research focuses on how firms, markets, and policies accelerate the transition towards a net-zero emissions economy. He is particularly interested in carbon removal and taught a course on the topic at ETH Zurich. His research has been published in leading journals, such as Download Nature Energy and Download Nature Sustainability.

Ben received a BSc in International Business Administration (2014) from the Download Rotterdam School of Management, an MSc in Environment and Development (2016) from Download The London School of Economics (LSE) and an MPhil and PhD in Environmental Economics and Policy from the Download University of Cambridge (2019).

Prior to joining SusTec, he advised governments and investors at the Oxford-based energy analytics start-up Download Aurora Energy Research, Download the German Development Bank, and the Download World Bank. He continues to advise start-ups like Download CEEZER and international organisations. Ben has also spent several years living and working in low- and middle-income countries, including Paraguay, Brazil and South Africa and speaks fluent German, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Ben has won multiple awards, including the Best Overall Performance Award at LSE and the Best PhD Research Prize from the Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge. He received scholarships from Download Cambridge University, Download the German Exchange Service, Download the German National Academic Foundation and Download the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

In his leisure time, Ben likes to experiment with different cuisines (with varying approval from his family), enjoys long runs along Swiss rivers, and used to be a semi-talented football player.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Foster, V., Trotter, P.A. [..] Probst, B., et al. (2024). Development and transition pathways for fossil fuel-producing low and lower-middle income countries in a carbon-constrained world. Nature Energy. Download https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-023-01440-3
Lohmann, P., Probst, B., Gsottbauer, E., Kontoleon, A., (2024). High levels of air pollution reduce team performance. Journal of Economic Psychology. Download https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2024.102705
Toetzke, M., Probst, B., Feuerriegel, S., (2023) Leveraging Large Language Models to Monitor Climate Technology Innovation. Environ. Res. Lett. in press Download https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acf233
Probst, B., Lohmann, P., Kontoleon, A., Anadon, L.D., (2023). The impact of open access mandates on scientific research and technological development in the U.S.. iScience Download https://www.cell.com/iscience/pdf/S2589-0042(23)01817-5.pdf
Hondeborg, D., Probst, B., Petkov, I., Knoeri, C. (2023). The effectiveness of building retrofit subsidies: empirical evidence from Switzerland. Energy Policy 180, p. 113680. Download https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113680
Mulugetta, Y., Sokona, Y., Trotter, P.A. et al. (2022) Africa needs context-relevant evidence to shape its clean energy future. Nature Energy. Download https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01152-0
Scheifele, F., Bräuning, M., Probst, B (2022). The Impact of Local Content Requirements on the Development of Export Competitiveness in Solar and Wind Technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Download https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112831
Probst, B., Touboul, S., Glachant, M., Dechezleprêtre, A. (2021). Global Trends in the Invention and Diffusion of Climate Change Mitigation Technologies. Nature Energy. Download doi: 10.1038/s41560-021-00931-5
Probst, B., Westermann, L., Kontoleon, A., Anadon., L. D. (2021). Leveraging private investment to expand renewable power generation: Evidence on financial additionality and productivity gains from Uganda. World Development. Download doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105347
Probst, B., Anatolitis, V., Kontoleon, A., Anadon., L. D. (2020). The short-term costs of local content requirements: Evidence from the Indian solar auctions. Nature Energy. Download doi: 10.1038/s41560-020-0677-7
Probst, B, BenYishay, A., Kontoleon, A., dos Reis, T. (2020) Impacts of a large-scale titling initiative on deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, Nature Sustainability. Download doi: 10.1038/s41893-020-0537-2
Probst, B., Holcroft, R., Huenteler, J., Balabanya, A., Tipping, A., Robinson, P. (2020) Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa: Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers. World Bank, Washington, DC. Download World Bank Policy Research Paper No. 9299.external page

Conference Contributions (peer-reviewed)

Toetzke M., Re F., Probst B., Feuerriegel S., Hoffmann V., Anadon L. D. Mapping global innovation networks around clean energy technologies. Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning: workshop at ICLR 2023 (proposals track). 2023.
Toetzke M., Probst B., Tatar Y., Feuerriegel S., Hoffmann V. Analyzing the global energy discourse with machine learning. Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning: workshop at NeurIPS 2022 (proposals track). 2022.

Policy reports (selection)

Probst, B. (2020) Mobilizing private capital for grid-connected renewable power in developing countries – Lessons learnt, Download KfW Development Bank Financial Cooperation Evaluation

Technical Reports (selection)

Download The economic implications of phasing out coal in Ukraine by 2030 (with Maren Preuß, Oleksii Mykhailenko, Ivana Sabaka, Benedict Probst, Peter Baum and Oksana Aliieva)
Download Hydrogen in the Northwest European energy system (2020) (with Alexander Esser, Hanns Koenig, Carlotta Piantieri, Marise Westbroek, Gniewomir Fils, Kane Hunter)
Regional incentives for dispatchable generation capacity (2020) (with Hanns Koenig)
Download Corporate Green PPAs: Economic analysis (2020) (with Hanns Koenig, Peter Baum, Andrew Moore)
The future of coal in Morocco’s power system (2020) (with Maren Preuss, Hanns Koenig, Peter Baum, Linus Beer) (not public)
Download Recommendations for a sustainable economic and structural recovery programme (2020) (with Peter Baum, Antonia Kilavuz, Hanns Koenig, Andreas Löschel and Johanna Schiele)
Are “kalte Dunkelflauten” killing the electrification of the heating sector? (2018) (with Benjamin Merle, Casimir Lorenz and Andreas Löschel)